Tuesday, February 25

Today is Tuesday of Week 7. Here is a link to the Week 7. It's African and Asian stories in Myth-Folklore this week, and finishing up the Mahabharata in Indian Epics. I hope you will enjoy this week's reading!

Class Procedures and Reminders

Project Stack. As always, you can check the stack to make sure I received your assignment. If you turned in something on Friday, you should have comments back from me, and I'll be working on the Saturday assignments today; hopefully I will get on to Sunday too.

Midterm grade reports. The university has sent the usual email to instructors reminding us that we are supposed to submit midterm grade reports next week. If you have questions about your progress in this class, let me know. To be passing the class now at the end of Week 6, you should have around 125 points; at the end of Week 7,  around 150. This Progress Chart might also be helpful.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. Here's another very cool Wikipedia Trail: From Nagamani to Deirdre of the Sorrow. This trail of links took Crystal from a famous piece of folklore in South Asia to a famous heroine of Irish legend!

Twitter Stream. I love this new brain-and-heart cartoon from the Awkward Yeti at Twitter: it's all about creativity and perfectionism (larger version):

Storybooks. This is a wonderful Aztec Storybook from last semester: Huitzilli's Journey.

Indian Epics Today. Today's character is a key figure at the start of the Mahabharata: King Pandu, the father of the heroes known as the Pandavas. He almost did not have sons, though, all because of a curse: Pandu's Curse.

Proverbs. Here's a proverb from Mali about the leopard: Goats cannot live in a herd of leopards.

Myth-Folklore Video. And here's an Anansi story: Anansi and the Snake.

100-Word Stories. Today's story is a famous fable: Father and Son on the Donkey (click title for more info).

H.E.A.R.T.. As the semester gets more hectic, remember to give yourself encouraging feedback too: Self-Talk.

HEART Video. And here are a few thoughts about the biology of positivity.

Mindset Cats. As always, the mindset cat knows that mistakes are part of how we grow and learn.

Event on Campus. It's the Couch Mardi Gras Crawfish Boil tonight, 4:30PM-8PM, with live music too! (details)

February 25: George Harrison. Today marks the birthday of George Harrison in 1943; he died in 2001. You can read about his life and career in this Wikipedia article. Today is my birthday too, and when I was growing up I always felt special because I shared my birthday with one of the Beatles. Here is a recording of George Harrison performing Om Hare Om: Gopala Krishna:

Here is an interview with Ravi Shankar and George Harrison about one of their collaborative projects: Chants of India.

This recording is from that album; it is a version of the ancient Mangalam mantra:

Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day, or click here for past announcements.